The Hustler (1961) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 31 titles created 13 Jan 2011 a list of 33 titles created 24 Aug 2013 a list of 21 titles created 01 Feb 2015 a list of 35 images created 24 Jun 2015 a list of 40 titles created 1 week ago Search for " The Hustler " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 20 nominations.

See more awards » Videos Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback. Director: Martin Scorsese A man refuses to conform to life in a rural prison. Director: Stuart Rosenberg In Chicago in September 1936, a young con man seeking revenge for his murdered partner teams up with a master of the big con to win a fortune from a criminal banker. Director: George Roy Hill Honest and hard-working Texas rancher Homer Bannon has a conflict with his unscrupulous, selfish, arrogant and egotistical son Hud, who sank into alcoholism after accidentally killing his brother in a car crash. Director: Martin Ritt A lawyer sees the chance to salvage his career and self-respect by taking a medical malpractice case to trial rather than settling. Director: Sidney Lumet Two Western bank/train robbers flee to Bolivia when the law gets too close. Director: George Roy Hill 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X Brick, an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie.

His reunion with his father, Big Daddy, who is dying of cancer, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son. Director: Richard Brooks When two escaping American World War II prisoners are killed, the German POW camp barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer. Director: Billy Wilder The World War II phase of the career of the controversial American general, George S. Patton . Director: Franklin J. Schaffner In a murder trial, the defendant says he suffered temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case? Director: Otto Preminger A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed. Director: John Ford Edit Storyline "Fast" Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary "Minnesota Fats" to a high-stakes match, but he loses in a heartbreaking marathon. Now broke and without his long-time manager, Felson faces an uphill battle to regain his confidence and his game.

It isn't until he hits rock bottom that he agrees to join up with ruthless and cutthroat manager Bert Gordon. Gordon agrees to take him on the road to learn the ropes. But Felson soon realizes that making it to the top could cost him his soul, and perhaps his girlfriend. Will he decide that this is too steep a price to pay in time to save himself? Written by <jgp3553@yahoo.com> Only the angel who falls knows the depths of hell. See more » Genres: 27 October 1961 (Italy) See more » Also Known As: Robert Rossen's The Hustler See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia Robert Rossen had been a pool hustler in his youth and even tried to write a play about it called Corner Pocket before stumbling across Walter Tevis ' novel The Hustler and deciding Tevis had done a better job. See more » Goofs During the first match with Fats, the time at one point is shown to be 4:00. Later, the time shown is again 4:00. See more » Quotes Fast Eddie : You know, I got a hunch, fat man.

I got a hunch it's me from here on in. One ball, corner pocket. I mean, that ever happen to you? You know, all of a sudden you feel like you can't miss? 'Cause I dreamed about this game, fat man. I dreamed about this game every night on the road. Five ball. You know, this is my table, man. I own it. The Definitive Movie About Pool 12 January 2005 | by dballred (Oklahoma City) – See all my reviews This is, without a doubt, the closest anything out of Hollywood ever came to touching the soul of a pool player. Paul Newman plays "Fast Eddie" Felson, a young player from California who travels east to take on the ultimate challenge: to beat "Minnesota Fats," played by the late Jackie Gleason. Willie Mosconi, probably the greatest pool player who ever walked the Earth, was technical adviser and choreographed many of the game sequences. On technical merit alone, this film is a pool player's classic. Beyond that, however, the way "Fast Eddie" takes to his skills and relationships pushes this film out as a classic for the general audience.

In one scene, he is describing what it is like to be really good at something. It is one of the best speeches about excellence I have ever heard. This is one of my top three films. On a scale of ten, I give it an eleven. 37 of 48 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes 25 Things You Might Not Know About 'The Hustler' | Moviefone 25 Things You Might Not Know About 'The Hustler' by Gary Susman Rack 'em! This week marks the 50th anniversary of 'The Hustler,' the landmark drama that cemented Paul Newman's stardom and gave him his signature rebellious antihero role, pool shark Fast Eddie Felson. It was a movie that sparked a real-life pool craze and inspired an actual pool hustler to rise to fame by renaming himself Minnesota Fats after Jackie Gleason's on-screen pool hall king.

In honor of the film's golden anniversary, here are 25 things you may not have known about the grimy classic, including how Bobby Darin got hustled out of the movie, how the film helped Piper Laurie's love life while sidelining her career, and why it took a quarter-century to make the sequel, 'The Color of Money.' The Color of Money Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 8:34 AM, PST NEWS 52 out of 67 people found the following review useful: Fast Eddie is back! from UK 28 April 2005 People misunderstood "The Color of Money," I think. There are a few things to keep in mind: 1) This was a Martin Scorsese film. Scorsese was fresh off "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," and other such successes from less than a decade before. People were expecting a lot. 2) It starred Paul Newman, returning to his character from "The Hustler," in a sequel that was twenty-five years in the making. That's longer than the wait for the "Phantom Menace" prequel.

Perhaps for those two (very strong) reasons alone, when "The Color of Money" opened in 1986, the critics and audiences didn't think much of it. It garnered decent praise from both areas but most critics seemed to agree: it didn't hold a candle to "The Hustler," and anyone other than Scorsese could have easily made the same picture. After 19 years, I disagree. I think "The Color of Money" is not only an intelligent and amusing character piece, but an excellent continuation of a character we haven't seen for 25 years. First of all, Scorsese's direction isn't his best, but it's still very good. And he's definitely got the same elements going on as "After Hours" from a few years before -- his cinematography is identical and the dark colors and grainy '80s vibe are present in every frame. Likewise he's using the quick-cuts and zooms and iconic panning shots that he's known for.

The thing is, Scorsese's styles just changed a bit during the 1980s (they even carried on into "GoodFellas" -- the night-time shots carry the same foreboding look as "After Hours" and "Color of Money"). I think now, looking back, since we've seen more of Scorsese's films, it's easier to notice that this is indeed a Martin Scorsese film. A man who is constantly changing his directorial approach. (Just look at "The Aviator" for goodness sake!) Newman deserved the Oscar more for "The Hustler," of course, but for what it's worth, Fast Eddie Felson's evolution is handled with care in the script and it's very entertaining (for anyone who's seen the original) to note the change in his behavior. It's also interesting to see the new cocky pool hustler, Vince (Tom Cruise), filling in the shoes of Eddie from a few decades before. If "The Hustler" was a great insight into the life of a troubled young man, then "The Color of Money" is a terrific insight into the evolution of this man, and the contrast between the young and the old.

All adults tell us as children that they were just like us at one time, and we don't believe them. "The Color of Money" follows this principal -- in thirty years, we all know Vince will be just like Fast Eddie: wise and matured. And then he'll probably be coaching a young guy who thinks he's the king of the world. Will they make another sequel based on this continuation of the story? I doubt it. It's unnecessary, because as far as I'm concerned "The Color of Money" has already stressed the point. But you never know... Overall this isn't a great movie and I won't pretend it is. But I do think it's one of the better films to come out of the 1980s and had a lot more going for it than some of the critics gave it credit for. Film buffs should see it, especially those who loved "The Hustler." Was the above review useful to you?

27 out of 30 people found the following review useful: Great performances in good movie from Austin, Texas 11 February 2005 Paul Newman reprised his role of Eddie Felson from "The Hustler" (1961), on all short lists of great movies, to star in "The Color of Money", a worthy sequel in the way "Rocky II" was to "Rocky" -- not a great movie, but very good. Eddie, advancing in years, has apparently left the hustling circuit for a more respectable job as a liquor wholesalesman. On his route, he encounters a brash, obnoxious pool shark named Vincent (Tom Cruise) and his girlfriend (Mary Mastrantonio). Vincent has the talent, but not the brains or knowledge, to be another great hustler, so Eddie, his desire for the circuit reignited, offers to stake Vincent and teach him the ropes, in exchange for a substantial piece of the winnings. At first, Vincent's ego and obnoxiousness threaten his development, but he soon learns all of Eddie's tricks -- and a few of his own.

By the time of the big tournament at the end of the movie, Eddie and Vince have split ways -- and find themselves on a collision course. I just realized that "The Color of Money" is my favorite Tom Cruise movie, but not my favorite Paul Newman movie (which could well be "The Hustler"). I re-viewed this movie recently after a long discussion with some friends about the difference between a movie star and an actor, and the few living legends that are both (besides Newman, I'd include Jack Nicholson and Robert de Niro). As always, Newman, even with such a huge public persona, disappears into the role of the middle-aged grifter, heartbroken how far his game has fallen in the days since he left the pool hall circuit. But he also makes the other performers around him shine. Cruise's trademark cockiness shines through in Vincent. Besides Mastrantonio, one of my favorite actresses Helen Shaver turns in a nice performance as Eddie's girlfriend, and Forest Whitaker first appeared on my radar in his short time on screen. The other star of the movie is the game.

While Scorsese didn't make his movie into the character study of "The Hustler", he uses the pool tables and balls as a medium for many artistic scenes. If you are someone who enjoys looking at beautiful movies, you won't be disappointed. And there might even be some real pool players -- you never know... The story is good, not great. "The Color of Money" is not cut from the same felt as "The Hustler", and does not try to be. It is a movie about pool, not a character study. I don't think I would be up to repeated viewings as frequent as "The Hustler", but it's a fine way to spend an evening watching Newman and Cruise shoot pool. Was the above review useful to you? 28 out of 38 people found the following review useful: Scorsese's successful return to bigger budgets from Nova Scotia, Canada 27 June 2001 "The Color Of Money" continues the story of pool player/hustler 'Fast Eddie' Felson (Paul Newman).

He's 25 years old, and 25 years wiser as he's spent that time watching pool hustles and schemes and selling wine after his 'early' retirement from pool playing in the original. But now he's got a new excitement and energy to the game, as he meets Vincent (Tom Cruise), a young, cocky but talented fresh player who's not well known around the low-level pool rooms Eddie has been frequenting. Eddie and Vincent's girlfriend, Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) see Vincent as a cash cow. Indeed, everybody uses everyone, and we're never quite sure the relationship between the three. That's the beauty of it. Scorsese's never been more refined yet quietly flashy, dealing with a traditional 'old' Hollywood tale of a mentor and protege as small time hustlers playing each other and getting played. The film is an underrated gem, truly downplayed in Scorsese's overall filmography. Definitely recommended. from United States 8 October 2007 "Twenty five years ago, my career ended before it had even really started," Eddie Felson tells Vince, a young pool shark.

No longer the cocky man he was in "The Hustler," Eddie (Paul Newman) in 1986 is retired from pool and a successful investor. When he spots hot-shot Vince (Tom Cruise), he decides to invest in him and take him on the road, with the goal of Vince winning a big pool tournament in Atlantic City. Along the way, Eddie confronts what he was and is no more and looks at the dreams he let die. When Vince is too foolish and strong-willed to take his advice, Eddie makes an important decision. Though not as strong a film as "The Hustler," "The Color of Money" is still an excellent film with a great cast led by Newman, at the peak of his "older man" good looks and the brilliant acting he's always had. And, as usual, he tells you everything you need to know about a character. It's clear that he was content with his life and his attractive girlfriend (Helen Shaver) until he saw Vince. Then the old restlessness and competitiveness came creeping back into his blood. Seeing Tom Cruise in 1986 is startling since today, the lower half of his face has changed drastically due to plastic surgery.

Here he conveys the raw, youthful energy that helped make him a star. Like many successful movie actors, he has a wonderful physical agility. His pompadoured Vince is a short-tempered, jealous, talented ingrate who can't help showing off. Cruise is very effective, as is Mary Elizabeth Mastroantonio as his sultry, beautiful girlfriend in another role she made memorable in the '80s. Beautifully directed by Scorcese, "The Color of Money" shows that it's never too late to follow your dreams and, with the right actors and the right script, you can do a good sequel even 25 years after the original. Was the above review useful to you? 21 out of 31 people found the following review useful: Amazing Sequel That Was 25 Years in the Making. from United States 3 July 2002 Near excellent sequel to "The Hustler" which returns Paul Newman (finally in an Oscar-winning role) as the old wise former hustler who decides to take young jerk Tom Cruise and his hot, but shady girlfriend (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in her Oscar-nominated role) on the road to take advantage of all pool table challengers.

Newman's reprise of his greatest role is truly something to experience. He is at the top of his career in this one, playing a quiet and complicated role of a man who has been tortured by time, loss and missed dreams of total success. Martin Scorsese's subtle and focused direction stays on task throughout and he lets his three outstanding leads do the bulk of the work. Not quite as good as "The Hustler" due to a weaker screenplay and less suspense, but still a very memorable cinematic experience. 4.5 out of 5 stars. Was the above review useful to you? 17 out of 24 people found the following review useful: "I Want Your Best Game" from Buffalo, New York 21 July 2007 Although a lot of this plot is taken from the Richard Widmark rodeo film When the Legends Die, The Color of Money is still a worthy film and a good successor to the early Paul Newman classic, The Hustler. I imagine that players like Paul Newman who create classic characters like Fast Eddie Felson must be bombarded with scripts or story ideas for sequels.

Paul Newman is one of the most discriminating of players and up to this point he had only reprised his role in Harper with The Drowning Pool. When he decided to do The Color of Money there was no need to age Newman twenty five years with makeup. Time had done a better job than any makeup man could have done. Time had also honed his acting abilities so that he could realistically recreate one of his classic characters in an older generation. One thing about The Color of Money is that can and does stand independently of The Hustler. You do not have to have seen the earlier film to know what's happening here. Nevertheless in that earlier film, promising new pool player Eddie Felson does not take direction from mobsters who effectively end his career before he gets it firmly on track. Fast forward from 1961 to 1986 and Paul Newman is now a liquor salesman who hangs around poolrooms in tank towns and dreams what might have been. A young kid with a 'sledgehammer break' gets Newman's attention and its Tom Cruise. He's got a girlfriend, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio with him and the three sort of adopt each other.

It's a complicated relationship between all three of them and all three of them manage to convey the many ups and downs of this triangle. Newman teaches Cruise the tricks of the trade including how to tank a game occasionally to bring up the betting odds. In many ways Cruise learns too well and Newman hanging around with him makes him realize just how much he's missed because of the gangland blackball. Reportedly Newman and Cruise got along splendidly during the making of The Color of Money. Their joint interest in auto racing cemented a very good working relationship. Paul Newman was also nominated during the eighties for Absence of Malice and The Verdict which are two of my favorites with him. Unfortunately in the first he was up against Henry Fonda who had been similarly snubbed for years by the Academy and was dying during the Oscar voting. The second time Ben Kingsley portrayal of the title role in the massive blockbuster Gandhi obscured what I think is Newman's finest performance in The Verdict. Though the Oscar was an Oscar for lifetime of work, The Color of Money is a worthy sequel to The Hustler. Martin Scorsese got great performances out of the whole cast.

And Paul Newman finally got a matching Oscar to go with the one Joanne Woodward won for The Three Faces of Eve for their mantelpiece. Was the above review useful to you? 12 out of 15 people found the following review useful: Unnecessary? Sure. But very well filmed and acted. from Omaha, NE USA 18 November 2009 The Color of Money is a slick sequel to The Hustler where Paul Newman as a much younger man paid the price for hustling pool. Now, twenty some years later, his Fast Eddie Felson is driving around in a big fancy Cadillac selling liquor and stake-horsing younger pool players. One day, while romancing his bartender girlfriend, his young protégé (John Tuturro) gets whipped by this cocky kid named Vincent. Eddie Felson is immediately drawn to the flaky, loud-mouthed kid with the name "Vince" stenciled on his tee shirt. After some arm twisting and manipulating, Eddie, Vincent, and Vincent's streetwise girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) are making their way to Atlantic City where a 9 Ball pool tournament awaits. Along they way Eddie tries to teach them how to hustle pool.

This will be a problem because of course the cocky youngster won't do as he's told. He has a gift and knows it. It is simply impossible for him to hold back and let someone beat him. Even when it could lead to a bigger payoff down the road. His girlfriend Carmen also seems to see both Vincent and Eddie as a way to make money for herself. She is clearly a woman with motives all her own. Of course this will all lead up to a climatic match in Atlantic City between the old master and the young protégé, won't it? Well, it appears to for a moment, until we learn that what we saw wasn't really what it appeared to be. And that's the part of the film that seemed to really irk Roger Ebert in his review. He was expecting a masterpiece of a film for no other reason than Martin Scorcese is the director. But the film isn't a masterpiece. Its simply a very good film with some great performances, great music, and some gritty and authentic-looking locations. Who is the better pool player is the last thing this film is about. This is a film about people using other people. Be it for money, inspiration, comfort, you name it.

Newman plays Felson here as a gruff, seasoned man who thinks he knows everything about the game, and those who play it. He finds out as the film moves along that is not always the case. Sometimes these younger players have new tricks up their sleeves, and if you let your guard down, they will hustle even the smartest old timer. There is a classic scene where Eddie, after a few too many drinks, allows a chubby and apparently dim-witted Forest Whitaker to take him for hundreds of dollars. The film is full of scenes that end in ways you don't quite expect. This is one of those movies where above all else, the casting was almost perfect. Newman is as watchable as ever. Mastrantonio steals a few scenes. Cruise is annoying of course, but he was supposed to be. Still, he looks kind of weak compared to the other actors. Great support from Helen Shaver and Bill Cobbs, too. Watch closely for an appearance from music icon Iggy Pop. During a montage, Cruise hustles him and then steals a shot of booze right out of his hand! The cinematography from Michael Ballhaus is great as always. In fact its too good!

Some of the camera shots just look too stylish for such a film. Maybe that was Scorcese's way of trying to liven up a picture with so little violence! Overall, The Color of Money is worth your time. 8 of 10 stars. The Hound 10 April 2010 The Color of Money (1986) The reputation of this films rides partly on its director, a mainstream Martin Scorsese, and on the previous film it bounces off of (and makes vague reference to), The Hustler. Key to both films is the astonishing Paul Newman, who holds his end of the stick and then some. The rest of the cast is purely in canned and competent support roles, or in semi-star roles by two young actors with some screen presence but no great subtle skill to match Newman's. I'm speaking not only of Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio, who is forced to play the slightly tough, slightly sexy, generally submissive girlfriend, but also of Tom Cruise, who is brilliant at being "flakey" partly because he is in real life, from all accounts.

You give Scorsese credit here for using the young actor in a role that matches his natural persona, in contrast to others, including Spielberg, who seem to make more of the actor than there is, and a certain falseness gets in the way. But this film uses the awkwardness and naive, boyish qualities of Cruise as a sudden pool shark really well. What holds it all back? I think basically plot. I mean, it's fun to see the big hustle at play, and to get stung once or twice when things aren't what they seem. But we sort of know going in that that's the general plan, and then it happens. And it takes a long time happening...there are no (no) complications here, beyond pool and hustling. The romances, for what they are worth, a completely thin, and didn't have to be. The settings, all these great (great) poolhalls and small town joints are terrific, populated a little too perfectly by locals of all different stripes. The camera-work makes some fairly cinema verite footage make sense in the scenes, but not with either edge or lyricism.

This all sounds a little like I'm working hard to point out the flaws, and I must go back to where I started about Newman, and the basic strength of the aging pool player facing a change in his personal scenery. It's a canned affair overall. Well done, sure, but without the richness of the best of Scorsese's work, or the best of Hollywood, for that matter, including the preceding The Hustler, which you might see in a pairing with this one. Was the above review useful to you? 10 out of 15 people found the following review useful: He's back alright ! from United Kingdom 4 March 2008 25 years after casting his magic in The Hustler, Paul Newman returns again as Fast Eddie Felson, and the results are almost as good as the 1961 offering. Here he is older and wiser and carrying around a cue case full of cynicism, tho no longer involved in the game of pool he has his hunger for the game and the money it makes, rekindled by a meeting with dynamite hot shot Vincent and his beautiful girlfriend Carmen.

The story involves the three of them going on the road hustling and aiming for the big pay off that Vincent's talent can ultimately bring them, naturally it's not all sweetness and light tho. It's a fine film when looking at it now, and I was amazed that it didn't feel like an 80s film as such, and this is down to the cracking direction of Martin Scorsese, it may be one of his most mainstream commercial offerings but his fine work is there for all to see. The camera glides around as if on air to create joyous results, shots that put the pool action right into the conscious of the viewer, it's a great effort. The film is further boosted by two wonderful performances from the leading men, Newman deserved his Oscar for putting such verve and honesty into the now grizzled Felson, there is a scene with Forest Whitaker that is Newman gold without him hardly having to say anything . Then there is Cruise, all big hair and a ball of adrenaline, a great ebullient show that is great fun to watch. I read somewhere that Newman praised Cruise for capturing the essence of a young Eddie Felson, well you can't say fairer than that.

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio more than holds her own with the boys and fleshes out a smart and entertaining film that seems to get better with age, just like Felson funnily enough. Oh he's back alright, 9/10. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: 25 Years Later Sequel. from North America 15 October 2013 Martin Scorsese directed this sequel to "The Hustler", set 25 years later. Paul Newman returns as 'Fast' Eddie Felson, long retired from pool playing, and now a successful liquor salesman. One day in a bar, he notices Vincent Lauria(played by Tom Cruise) who has undeniable talent as a pool player but is far too overconfident, scaring away potential marks as a result. Vincent reminds Eddie of himself, so agrees to manage him, as long as he accepts his coaching without argument. Vincent also has a loyal girlfriend called Carmen(played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who reminds Eddie of his doomed romance with Sarah... Events will collide in the big pool tournament at the end.

Paul Newman won a long overdue Academy Award for his performance, which is the best thing about this misfired sequel, which is good-looking but oddly unsatisfying, especially the ending. Lacks the stark style and memorable supporting characters of the first. Was the above review useful to you? Page 1 of 12: Paul Newman "The Hustler" - LA Times Paul Newman "The Hustler" Paul Newman "The Hustler" 20th Century-Fox The Hustler Newman may have won his lead actor Oscar for playing pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson in The Color of Money, the 1986 sequel to this 1961 classic, but he really should have won the Academy Award for his exhilarating, audacious turn as the young pool shark in this uncompromising drama based on Walter Tevis novel, co-adapted and directed by Robert Rossen. Newmans scenes with his girlfriend, the alcoholic Sarah (Piper Laurie), and the ultimate pool hustler Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) are remarkable in their power and simplicity. Newman won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for best actor.

The Hustler Newman may have won his lead actor Oscar for playing pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson in The Color of Money, the 1986 sequel to this 1961 classic, but he really should have won the Academy Award for his exhilarating, audacious turn as the young pool shark in this uncompromising drama based on Walter Tevis novel, co-adapted and directed by Robert Rossen. Newmans scenes with his girlfriend, the alcoholic Sarah (Piper Laurie), and the ultimate pool hustler Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) are remarkable in their power and simplicity. Newman won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for best actor.

(20th Century-Fox) The Hustler Newman may have won his lead actor Oscar for playing pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson in The Color of Money, the 1986 sequel to this 1961 classic, but he really should have won the Academy Award for his exhilarating, audacious turn as the young pool shark in this uncompromising drama based on Walter Tevis novel, co-adapted and directed by Robert Rossen. Newmans scenes with his girlfriend, the alcoholic Sarah (Piper Laurie), and the ultimate pool hustler Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) are remarkable in their power and simplicity. Newman won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for best actor. 20th Century-Fox The Hustler Movie Review & Film Summary (1961) | Roger Ebert Eddie: So I got talent? So what beat me? Bert: Character. There are only a handful of movie characters so real that the audience refers to them as touchstones. Fast Eddie Felson is one of them.

The pool shark played by Paul Newman in "The Hustler" (1961) is indelible--given weight because the film is not about his victory in the final pool game, but about his defeat by pool, by life, and by his lack of character. This is one of the few American movies in which the hero wins by surrendering, by accepting reality instead of his dreams. Advertisement Billiards is the arena for the movie's contests, but there is no attempt to follow the game shot by shot, or even to explain the rules. The players are contesting each others' inner strength. The film could be about any seedy game depending on bluff, self-confidence, money management and psychology: It was remade as "The Cincinnati Kid," about poker. The world of pool halls, flophouses, bars and bus stations provides no hiding place. You will eventually reveal what you are made of, and pool is a game where skill can carry you only so far. The film provided Paul Newman's breakthrough into the first rank of Hollywood actors, but it is instructive to see how important the other actors are; how "The Hustler" benefited by being made before the big-money star was required to appear in almost every shot.

The test of Newman's character comes not so much at a pool table as in his relationship with Sarah Packard ( Piper Laurie ), whose story is told as fully as Felson's own; this is not one of the macho 1990s movies in which the filmmakers are unable to see a woman except in the simplest terms. The real contest in "The Hustler" is not between Fast Eddie and Minnesota Fats, but between Eddie's love for Sarah and his self-destructive impulses. George C. Scott , as the cold, vicious gambler and manager Bert Gordon, was appearing in only his third movie. He has the absolute authority we would see again and again: the air of a man serenely himself. The way he plays against Sarah, with a cruel word here and a whispered suggestion there, is as hard and painful as his order to have Eddie's thumbs broken. Bert is always calculating. When he tells Eddie he's a "loser," we know he says that to goad him to win or push him to lose; he's never just supplying his opinion. Advertisement Then there is Jackie Gleason , as the legendary pool champion Minnesota Fats--the man Eddie must beat to prove himself the best.

Gleason (and Scott) won Oscar nominations for their supporting performances; what is interesting is that they make equally unforgettable impressions, although Scott has a lot of dialogue and Gleason has only a handful of words, apart from calling his shots. With Gleason it is all presence, body language, the sad face, the concise, intent way he works the table, the lack of wasted moves. He gives the impression of a man purified by pool, who has moved through all the sad compromises and crooked bets and hustling moves and emerged as a man who simply, elegantly, plays the game. He has long ago given up hustling; unlike Eddie, he makes his living by dependably being the best, time after time, so that others can test themselves against him. He is the ruler of a shabby kingdom, and at the end of the film, as Eddie and Bert have their merciless confrontation, he sits passive in the middle of the floor, listening to what he has heard countless times before, knowing that to practice his gift he has to accept this world.

The movie was produced and directed by Robert Rossen, a writer from the 1940s who first refused to "name names" when called in the McCarthyite witchhunt, and then changed his mind, said he had been a communist, and named 57 others. That was the price he paid to be able to work, and there must be a shadow of that price in the compromises Fast Eddie is asked to make. The movie, based on a novel by Walter Tevis , was written by Rossen and Sydney Carroll, and filmed in black and white CinemaScope by Eugene Shuftan, who won an Oscar. To see why b&w is the right choice, contrast it with Martin Scorsese's " The Color of Money " (1986), also starring Newman as Fast Eddie, but looking too bright and alive for the stygian gloom of the billiard parlor at midnight. (Newman won his only Oscar for "Color"--ironic, unless it was belated amends for "The Hustler"). Rossen's crucial decision is to allow full weight and screen time to all of his characters.

Laurie's Sarah is the greatest beneficiary, a lame alcoholic who sits in the bus station when she cannot sleep, who goes to college on Tuesdays and Thursdays and drinks on the other days, who turns her face away from Eddie's first kiss and says "You're too hungry," and who wisely tells him: "Look, I've got troubles and I think maybe you've got troubles. Maybe it'd be better if we just leave each other alone." Advertisement When Bert wants to take Eddie to Louisville for a big-money match with the millionaire Findley ( Murray Hamilton ), Eddie caves in to Sarah's tears and takes her along. Bert sees her as a rival and expertly and mercilessly destroys her in a few days; learning that Eddie's broken thumbs have healed, he says, "I'd hate to think I was puttin' my money on a cripple"--a line aimed straight at Sarah. And when she is drunk and leaning against a wall at Findley's party, he approaches her and says something into her ear, something we cannot hear, that causes her to throw her drink at him and then collapse, and sets in motion the process of her death.

That the movie attends to these two supporting actors, gives heft to their rivalry, adds depth and savor to the story. Watching it, we reflect that many modern movies are one-dimensional and linear, telling one story about one character with superficial haste. "The Hustler" is one of those films where scenes have such psychic weight that they grow in our memories. That's true of the matches between Eddie and Fats. One respected critic writes of "the two climactic matches with Gleason as Minnesota Fats," when in fact the first match, by far the longest, comes at about the one-third mark, and the final showdown between the two men is not given much screen time, although it leads to the perfect coda: Fat Man, you shoot a great game of pool. Advertisement So do you, Fast Eddie. Remembering the movie, I thought the second match was the longer one, lasting all night and into the next day. But Minnesota Fats is such a legendary character and Eddie's need to defeat him so burning that Rossen wisely realizes he doesn't need to replay the first long match to get the effect.

This was the fourth film edited by the great Dede Allen (her next would be " Bonnie and Clyde "), and she finds a rhythm in the pool games--the players circling, the cuesticks, the balls, the watching faces--that implies the trance-like rhythm of the players. Her editing "tells" the games so completely that if we don't understand pool, we forget that we don't. The first meeting of Eddie and Fats was about pool. The second, as Bert correctly predicted, is about character. Bert's secret is that by "character" he doesn't mean goodness, honesty or other Boy Scout virtues. He means the snakelike ability to put winning above any other consideration, and to never tempt the odds. Advertisement The film is populated with an unobtrusive gallery of bit players. Willie Mosconi, for years the U.S. billiard champion, has a walk-on as "Willie," who holds the money for an early match; he also performed some of the movie's trick shots, although legend has it Gleason made his own shots and Newman most of his. Murray Hamilton (Mr. Findley) had a famous role six years later as Mr.

Robinson in " The Graduate ." One of the bartenders is the Raging Bull, Jake LaMotta. Myron McCormick, a stage actor who appeared infrequently in films, plays Eddie's first manager--battered, honest, cast aside by Eddie on the way to the top. Among the male faces in the movie, most of them old, weathered, cold or cruel, Paul Newman's open and handsome looks are a contrast. But the casting is correct. He isn't too handsome for this ugly world, but a hustler who trades on his boyish grin and aw-shucks way of asking if anybody feels like a game. His face has gotten Eddie almost as far as his pool skills. He doesn't look like a hustler, but then the best ones never do. Popular Blog Posts ‎The Hustler (1961) directed by Robert Rossen • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd 8 Robert Rossen was a director with very short resume who struck early success with All the Kings Men, but waited twelve long years to repeat that success. That film was The Hustler, starring Paul Newman as billiard beast ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson.

The film follows the hotheaded Felson as he frequently gets in his own way trying to find some level of prosperity utilizing his talents. His hubris and machismo lead him to challenge the great pool player Minnesota Fats, played by a confident and charming Jackie Gleason, to a game of high stakes pool. This does not end well for Felson, and as he finds bottom in both his profession and his codependent relationship (Piper Laurie), Fast Eddie begins the… Do you like to gamble, Eddie? Gamble money on pool games? -Minnesota Fats An incredible film about a self-defeating man that is already the "best" as far as talent is concerned, but he's still a loser because he's a deeply flawed human being with no character. He's all ego and doesn't understand what winning is if it doesn't involve the humiliation of his opponent. It's that fact that leaves him vulnerable to smarter opponents and a pathetic mess when they are done with him. Fast Eddie Felson is that man, one of the truly great American film characters and he is portrayed by Paul Newman in one of THE great American performances.

This is now my earliest Newman film and… 2 Now this is what a timeless classic looks like; every aspect of it is just as resonant today as it was 50 years ago. Robert Rossen's tale of raw ambition and unquenchable greed follows "Fast Eddie" Felson, a pool shark with a passionate desire to become the best player in the country by beating the legendary Minnesota Fats. Eddie is played by Paul Newman in one of his greatest and most iconic performances. Playing a character blinded by his ambition, who lives life like a mad-dash to the end. He is fast-talking and uncontrollable, which is his downfall in an epic showdown with Fats - Jackie Gleeson with effortless dominance. Beaten and humbled, he then develops a relationship with Sarah,… 4 Seems like everyone's watching Paul Newman movies at the moment. That's all the excuse I need to finally check this one out, which has been inexplicably sat gathering dust on my shelf for a year or more. All I really knew about this one was that it was about pool. Well, that's true I guess, but it's obviously got far more going on than that - no classic "sports movie" arc here.

What would be the big climactic match in a more traditional underdog sports movie is practically the opening scene here, and what we actually get is an exploration of the aftermath of that match, with a cocky young hustler who thinks he's unbeatable learning to deal with the… 4 Seems like everyone's watching Paul Newman movies at the moment. That's all the excuse I need to finally check this one out, which has been inexplicably sat gathering dust on my shelf for a year or more. All I really knew about this one was that it was about pool. Well, that's true I guess, but it's obviously got far more going on than that - no classic "sports movie" arc here. What would be the big climactic match in a more traditional underdog sports movie is practically the opening scene here, and what we actually get is an exploration of the aftermath of that match, with a cocky young hustler who thinks he's unbeatable learning to deal with the… Review by Jonah Helfrich ★★★★½ I have been fascinated with billiards since I was a young boy. When I was about fifteen, my parents got me a small billiards table for my brother and I to practice on.

Granted, it was not an official table, but I practiced as often as I could because this was a sport I knew I could excel at with enough practice. All that practice enabled me to not only develop my geometry skills, but also develop invaluable skills such as patience and creative problem-solving, which have served me well. The Hustler reinforced my love for pool while highlighting the dangers of loving the game too much. I can only imagine how hard it is to create an engaging narrative… Articles about L Jon Wertheim - latimes L. Jon Wertheim writes about the rise of ultimate cage fighting March 25, 2009 | Matthew DeBord Cage fighting. It's a concept that, to most people, evokes brutality, violence, lawlessness, outlaw behavior. It certainly doesn't suggest anything redeeming. Two men entering an octagonal ring surrounded by chain-link and beating each other until one can't stand up anymore; that's not a sport, that's gladiator stuff. That's the end of civilization. These people don't know Pat Miletich, Iowa-born former mixed martial arts champion and hero of sportswriter L. Advertisement L.

Jon Wertheim writes about the rise of ultimate cage fighting March 25, 2009 | Matthew DeBord Cage fighting. It's a concept that, to most people, evokes brutality, violence, lawlessness, outlaw behavior. It certainly doesn't suggest anything redeeming. Two men entering an octagonal ring surrounded by chain-link and beating each other until one can't stand up anymore; that's not a sport, that's gladiator stuff. That's the end of civilization. These people don't know Pat Miletich, Iowa-born former mixed martial arts champion and hero of sportswriter L. BOOKS A shark, and his appetites October 21, 2007 | Heather Byer, Heather Byer is the author of the memoir "Sweet: An Eight-Ball Odyssey." It's impossible to write about pool hustlers, or to review books about them, without mentioning the story that set the standard: "The Hustler," the 1961 movie based on Walter Tevis' novel, starring Paul Newman as tortured pool shark "Fast" Eddie Felson -- whip-smart and cocky, exuding elegance and working-class magnetism.

ENTERTAINMENT 'Scorecasting' info February 26, 2011 Scorecasting The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won Tobias J. Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim Crown Archetype: 255 pp., $26 SPORTS A shark, and his appetites - latimes YOU ARE HERE: LAT Home → Collections A shark, and his appetites Running the Table The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler; L. Jon Wertheim; Houghton Mifflin: 248 pp., $24 October 21, 2007 |Heather Byer | Heather Byer is the author of the memoir "Sweet: An Eight-Ball Odyssey." It's impossible to write about pool hustlers, or to review books about them, without mentioning the story that set the standard: "The Hustler," the 1961 movie based on Walter Tevis' novel, starring Paul Newman as tortured pool shark "Fast" Eddie Felson -- whip-smart and cocky, exuding elegance and working-class magnetism.

So what would you do if you met a pool player who was just as charismatic and wily as Eddie Felson -- except that he weighed 300 pounds, spoke in a high, screechy voice and battled depression so severe that for months he hardly ever got out of bed? If you were a writer, you'd immediately profile him for a well-known magazine and then write a book about him, which is what L. Jon Wertheim did after meeting Danny Basavich, known to everyone in the world of pool as Kid Delicious. In "Running the Table: The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler," Wertheim, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and author of three previous sports-themed books, provides a rollicking account of how Basavich discovered pool, discovered hustling and turned both occupations into art forms. When we first meet Basavich in the early 1990s, he's an overweight, unhappy New Jersey teenager, mocked and picked on at school, until the day he gets up and leaves in the middle of class, vowing never to return. Now that he doesn't have much to fill his days, he goes to a pool hall, and he's promptly hooked.

It's not long before the big kid attracts mentors. He is taught the fine points of the game by some of New Jersey's best hustlers, and he soaks it up like a sponge. He ventures to New York City, where he beats a talented young player nicknamed Kid Vicious. One of the spectators remarks, "Kid Vicious just got hustled by Kid Delicious," and Basavich's pool moniker is born. Kid Delicious is told that if he wants to get serious about pool, he must play regularly at Chicago Billiards in West Haven, Conn. The best players in the tri-state area hone their craft there -- as well as win and lose large sums of money. So Delicious heads to Connecticut, a decision that turns out to be life-changing, because it is at Chicago Billiards that he meets a young man who will become the most important person in his life. Delicious, in turn, will serve the same role for him. Bob Begey from Bristol, Conn. -- or Bristol Bob, as he's called -- is as disciplined as Delicious is a slave to his appetites. "With the exception of an abiding passion for pool. . . they could not have had less in common," Wertheim writes.

"One fought a constant pitched battle with weight; the other scarcely had any body fat. One was warm and genial; the other, cold and abrasive. One was passive to a fault; the other had the sort of temper that begged for anger management." Yet the two bond immediately. Risk excites them, and it's not long before the young guns decide to hit the road and see if they can make a living playing pool. It's obvious how Wertheim could be seduced by this unlikely buddy story. He keeps the ball-by-ball account of games to a minimum, instead lavishing his descriptive powers on the pair and the series of miscreants they meet. Bristol has a strong effect on Delicious: He gets him to buy new clothes, pay more attention to his eating habits and exercise. By the end of their journey, Delicious has lost close to 75 pounds. And it's a two-way street. "[W]atching Delicious work a room was finally having a transformative effect on Bristol," Wertheim writes. "Suppressing his natural intensity, he was growing more sociable and laid-back; he was quicker to make small talk and slower to pass judgment. . . .

[H]is emotional temperature, once so volatile, was much steadier." The duo's play eventually attracts the notice of Greg Smith, a self-described "pool detective." He tells Delicious and Bristol where they can find almost certain scores. In return, he gets 20% of their winnings. As the pair tours the back roads of the U.S., their adventures begin to take on a predictable feel: Bristol and Delicious go to a pool hall, call out the town's resident bad-ass player, lose a few, win big, and then split before they find themselves in danger. They meet mobsters and drug dealers and good ol' country boys. They play guys with names like Spanish Mike, Harry the Hat, Big City Smitty, Monster John and Sow's Meat. And yet we never tire of these stories. They are like the colorful tales repeated by a rascally great-uncle -- you love to hear them again and again. "Running the Table" is not without its dark side, which can be found in Delicious' bouts of depression and in Bristol's unexpected free fall. When Delicious doesn't play pool, or when he can't find his mojo, the clouds close in.

Bristol learns to tell when these episodes are coming on, and he helps Delicious get through them. It's a pleasant surprise to learn that someone who crackles with so much anger and intensity also has enormous reserves of compassion. Trickshot by "Fast Eddie" Felson Paul Newman in The Hustler 1961 - Setup by PoolShot.org - YouTube Trickshot by "Fast Eddie" Felson Paul Newman in The Hustler 1961 - Setup by PoolShot.org Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Sep 3, 2015 The Hustler is a 1961 American drama film directed by Robert Rossen from Walter Tevis's 1959 novel of the same name, adapted for the screen by Rossen and Sidney Carroll. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson and his desire to break into the "major league" of professional hustling and high-stakes wagering by high-rollers that follows it.

He throws his raw talent and ambition up against the best player in the country; seeking to best the legendary pool player "Minnesota Fats." After initially losing to Fats and getting involved with unscrupulous manager Bert Gordon, Eddie returns to beat Fats, but only after paying a terrible personal price. The film was shot on location in New York City. It stars Paul Newman as "Fast" Eddie Felson, Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats, Piper Laurie as Sarah, and George C. Scott as Bert. Category

Question: Which 1961 film starred Paul Newman as pool shark "Fast" Eddie Felson?
Answer: The Hustler